Judgment | Washington State Magazine | Washington State University

Summer 2004

The kid from Odessa

As he looked around the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room last June, Lonny Suko had not lost sight of how he got there.

At age 59, he had gone east to face questions about his ability to replace U.S. District Court judge William Fremming Nielson, who took senior status.

Did Suko have the personal and professional mettle to serve as judge for the Eastern District of Washington state?

His answer came July 15, when the Senate confirmed President Bush’s nomination of him by a 94-0 vote.

The trip to Washington D.C., a venture backed by the area’s Congressional delegation, capped what was a “tremendously … » More …

Spring 2002

The liberal art of judgment

Effective judgment asks us to go beyond ourselves, beyond our assumptions, and beyond the comfort of our traditions.

With little effort, we can now garner information about any part of the globe, society, legal system, health care remedy, religious belief, scientific discovery, business product, or service almost instantly. But having all this information does not guarantee that we’ll use it effectively or wisely. That requires judgment. And the responsibility for instilling judgment lies largely with the university.

Two basic ingredients assure that our universities develop and preserve judgment: faculty committed to and supported in their efforts to seek truth and discover new knowledge, and a … » More …